Started out to save money....

[Billy-Klubb]

This is a terribly awesome addiction. :rockin:

yep.

 

[Roadie]

We went straight to all grain and have been brewing at a retail place that rents their setup. Instead of getting a small kettle and a propane burner and upgrading later we went with an electric setup 3 20g vessels from Stout and the Electric Brewery control panel, bought a freezer which we turned into an 8 faucet keezer, temp controllers for keezer and fermenting fridge...it's never ending! Our vacation plan for next year was to go to Italy but man is that out!

 

[Kolsch_Meister]

My cost per beer is much less than buying commercial beer, but I find that I am drinking a lot more beer (I really like my home brew) than I was before and the total cost is more...

 

[tooldudetool]

Has anyone mentioned how great it is to have empty recycle bins? Man, when my kegs run out I know my garbage man notices ..or assumes we had a big party! Homebrewing, save money... and the environment!!

 

[thatjonguy]

Just wait until you realize you have almost $800 in brewing books.

 

[newbies13]

There is certainly significant startup costs, but if you factor in the price per bottle for good beer at the market over the life of the equipment... It should only take you around 15-20 batches to pay for the equipment. Then you are paying roughly .50 per 12oz serving after that.

At least in my case.

 

[WI_Wino]

My cost per beer is much less than buying commercial beer, but I find that I am drinking a lot more beer (I really like my home brew) than I was before and the total cost is more...

X 2

Averaging consuming a case a week, just the wife and me.

 

[jnr1005]

Well, my buddy and I were dropping $100 every 2 weeks on good brews...so we decided this would be cheaper. An all grain set up later with pots, built in temp and spickit, 5 fermenting buckets (who needs only 1..?) and a four kegs, a new beer fridge, and a **** ton of other costs later, we are realizing cheap is not exactly the word.. But it's fun as hell!!!

 

[SPR-GRN]

Whenever I'm worried about how much money I've spent and plan on spending on this hobby, I go to my keezer and drink until it starts responding to my advances. DONT TELL MY WIFE, she gets jealous..

 

[amfukuda]

Whenever I'm worried about how much money I've spent and plan on spending on this hobby, I go to my keezer and drink until it starts responding to my advances. DONT TELL MY WIFE, she gets jealous..

I'm not even sure how to respond to this but it's fantastic

 

[Setesh]

I've more than broken even so far. I've brewed over 100 batches on the same set of equipment:

10 gal cooler MLT
10 gal bayou classic pot
Camp Chef SH-140L burner
50ft homemade immersion chiller
Thermapen
2 liter flask
homemade stirplate
SS spoons
2 glass carboys and 4 better bottles (replaced the better bottles once, just to be safe)
$100 Craigslist 14CuFt freezer turned keezer with STC-1000 and picnic taps and barrier lines.
20# and 10# CO2 tanks off CL for $35 for both
2 mini fridges off CL for $20 total, two more STC-1000s and plugs and I have two fermentation chambers for $80 total.
The most expensive parts I have are my ball lock kegs, of which I have 12
I've made something over 25000 bottles worth of beer on this system, so yeah, I've broken even.

BUT!

Now I am building an EHERMS system and all of my break even is about to go out the window. Pumps, quick disconnects, hoses, The Electric Brewery control panel, heating elements, temperature probes, kettle fittings, valves, false bottom, etc, etc. I'm saving where I can but most of it I have to buy new. I got 2 Keg shells for free from a local liquor store, just need one more and I can make my keggles. That's about the only thing I"m gonna get away for cheap on. In the end I could have stayed low tech and saved a lot of money, but where's the fun in that???

 

[thisisbeer]

I don't think I will every break even I still buy a lot of beer, and brew almost every weekend. But I have to buy beer for...research, ya research.

 

[JBOGAN]

Every time i look at the old Mr.Beer box in the coat closet i think to myself "poor bastard never had a chance'.Now..to take SWMBO to dinner Friday or buy some grains for the weekend?

 

[Homercidal]

You will save money eventually, but you gotta spend a shtload before you get there!

 

[BigFloppy]

I definitely save money overall... I'm a big import drinker... Gulden Draak is $340+ (can't remember last time I bought it though, been a while) for 5 gallon keg at the local store

My grain cost for 5 gallons $65 (with everything)

Even experimenting monthly with other "craft brews" and I'm still way ahead of the game

 

[ittybittykittycommittee]

In my first 5 batches, my ingredient cost brings me to $0.69/12 oz bottle, which isn't bad at all. With equipment (including a turkey fryer, mash tun, freezer and temp controller) I'm still under $2/bottle. I still "need" a chiller, bigger pot, and grain mill though! Hobbies are always a sinkhole that money disappears in though.

 

[jbaysurfer]

Just a thought that occured to me. If you're giving away more beer after you start brewing then before (every one of us I'd assume) the amount you're saving on the given away beer isn't really savings at all.

 

[Setesh]

Just a thought that occured to me. If you're giving away more beer after you start brewing then before (every one of us I'd assume) the amount you're saving on the given away beer isn't really savings at all.

I guess it depends on the situation. If you are talking about giving away beer because you make so much you can't drink it and nobody comes over to drink enough of it, then yes, that is not a savings. If people came over to your house and drank your store bought beer but now since you brew they drink your home brew instead then I think that is a savings.

I also place a value on being the "beer guy". Everyone is happy to see the beer guy and I enjoy having people try my new beers. Savings? No. Valuable? Yes, IMO.

Devil's advocate: If you are making so much homebrew that you have to give it away then I would say you are no longer brewing to save money. You are brewing because you enjoy it and it is your hobby. The goal at this point is no longer savings, it's enjoyment. I think a completely different set of rules apply now. But maybe that's just me?

 

[Malric]

Over the last 5 years, I've spent roughly $4500. Most of that went to an electric HERMS basement brewery. Even at that cost, I should recoup the cost in 2-3 years.



Bulk buying grain, hops and reusing yeast got my average cost below $20 per 5 gallon batch. The last IPA that I brewed cost roughly $17.50.

 

[jbaysurfer]

I guess it depends on the situation. If you are talking about giving away beer because you make so much you can't drink it and nobody comes over to drink enough of it, then yes, that is not a savings. If people came over to your house and drank your store bought beer but now since you brew they drink your home brew instead then I think that is a savings.

I also place a value on being the "beer guy". Everyone is happy to see the beer guy and I enjoy having people try my new beers. Savings? No. Valuable? Yes, IMO.

Devil's advocate: If you are making so much homebrew that you have to give it away then I would say you are no longer brewing to save money. You are brewing because you enjoy it and it is your hobby. The goal at this point is no longer savings, it's enjoyment. I think a completely different set of rules apply now. But maybe that's just me?

I agree 100% with all of this. My thought was actually triggered by people doing the math as: I save X cents per bottle, divide my sunk costs by X and that's my breakeven. After that I'm saving money. Well, no. If you're giving away more beer then you did before you brewed, the beers you gave away don't count toward the breakeven.

Anyway, just one of those "I think I thought of something useful to contribute!" posts.

 

[Hemidoc]

I have been meaning to get into brewing for a few years. Finally took the plunge when I got sick of dealing with recycling cans and bottles. Also figured I could save a few bucks over the long term. Cheap diet beer is about 65-75 cents per can. Morebeer dot com has many kits that you can brew for less than 50 cents per beer that are much better than cheap diet beer.
My biggest expense so far has been kegging equipment. Got 3 kegs CO2 tank regulator and stuff. Did find a deal at Walmart for a 32qt pot for $22. Reused the propane burner I already had. Gonna make a mash tun outta one of the coolers I already have. Made a temp controller for the fridge I already had in the garage. $20 thermostat from Walmart and some stuff I had laying around made a fermentation chamber. Now I need something to keep the beer cold in.
To be honest with yas this hobby is not that expensive as compared to other things. I am a fan of powerboating and will blow through $100 in gas in an afternoon with my single 460 Ford powered 24 foot boat. Now if I can carry my home brew on the boat instead of commercial beer.

 

[SPR-GRN]

I have been meaning to get into brewing for a few years. Finally took the plunge when I got sick of dealing with recycling cans and bottles. Also figured I could save a few bucks over the long term. Cheap diet beer is about 65-75 cents per can. Morebeer dot com has many kits that you can brew for less than 50 cents per beer that are much better than cheap diet beer.
My biggest expense so far has been kegging equipment. Got 3 kegs CO2 tank regulator and stuff. Did find a deal at Walmart for a 32qt pot for $22. Reused the propane burner I already had. Gonna make a mash tun outta one of the coolers I already have. Made a temp controller for the fridge I already had in the garage. $20 thermostat from Walmart and some stuff I had laying around made a fermentation chamber. Now I need something to keep the beer cold in.
To be honest with yas this hobby is not that expensive as compared to other things. I am a fan of powerboating and will blow through $100 in gas in an afternoon with my single 460 Ford powered 24 foot boat. Now if I can carry my home brew on the boat instead of commercial beer.

pics of the 460! I guess you can include some of the boat if you need to, but I'm mostly interested in the 460 - a friend of mine wedged one into a fox mustang.. that car was pretty much a straight line only, but it was a monster.
I've always been a small bock guy (289, 302, 351w) but have respect for the big blocks, especially the ones set up to wind.

sorry this is a beer/money thread...

But you want to talk about an expensive hobby with NO residual value.. modifying cars - every dollar you invest in your car LOWERS the value (not talking about restoration, talking about modification).

 

[Hemidoc]

pics of the 460! I guess you can include some of the boat if you need to, but I'm mostly interested in the 460 - a friend of mine wedged one into a fox mustang.. that car was pretty much a straight line only, but it was a monster.
I've always been a small bock guy (289, 302, 351w) but have respect for the big blocks, especially the ones set up to wind.

sorry this is a beer/money thread...

But you want to talk about an expensive hobby with NO residual value.. modifying cars - every dollar you invest in your car LOWERS the value (not talking about restoration, talking about modification).

Off topic for a sec. Hey I enjoy beer best on the water.